---
title: 'Mission Lead - San Diego (Clearance Required) at Vannevar'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-san-diego-clearance-required-vannevar-san-diego-s36svykxp8xx'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# Mission Lead - San Diego (Clearance Required) at Vannevar

- **Company:** Vannevar
- **Location:** San Diego, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-07-07
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vannevarlabs/jobs/5181911007

## Job description

Vannevar is a defense technology company building AI to deter our adversaries. In the 21st century, conflict moves at algorithmic speed and foresight equals firepower. Our agentic AI is purpose-built to compete with China—from cross-Strait conflict to gray zone coercion. Trained on the most mission-relevant datasets in defense, our technology models adversary behavior, simulates campaigns, and recommends the best course of action to decision makers. Our AI systems are some of the most trusted in the industry and actively used on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific to keep the peace and save lives.

Exceptional technology starts with exceptional people. Vannevar is a small agile team combining world-class engineers with veteran strategists who bring deep expertise in defense and tradecraft. We’re building a company defined by mission impact, user empathy, and disciplined growth. In just three years, we grew from $3M to $80M in ARR, achieved early profitability, and reached unicorn status—proving that disruption doesn’t require an ego, and staying power doesn’t mean standing still.

## About the role

Mission Leads are customer-facing owners of mission outcomes. You will lead engagements with government stakeholders to identify high-value mission problems, shape pilots and deployments, and turn demonstrated mission value into durable, funded programs.

This role blends mission credibility with strong execution and technical intuition. You will operate with high autonomy in ambiguous environments, translate mission needs into clear technical narratives, and coordinate across functional teams (Product, Engineering, Mission, Security, and Operations) to deliver and scale.

U.S. Persons status with at least a current Top Secret clearance in required. This is a customer-facing role required to be based in San Diego. Work will require time in secure or classified environments and periodic travel.

## What you'll do

- Build and maintain trusted relationships with stakeholders across Navy program offices, PAEs, SYSCOMs, warfare centers, and operational commands.
- Identify and develop new mission opportunities by understanding capability gaps, operational requirements, and acquisition priorities across the Navy enterprise.
- Lead customer-facing engagements, including mission discovery, capability demonstrations, operational assessments, and strategic account planning.
- Serve as the primary customer-facing owner for Navy mission and program engagements, helping drive successful pilot execution, operational adoption, and long-term program transition.
- Translate operational challenges and technical requirements into actionable solutions leveraging Vannevar's software capabilities.
- Partner closely with government program managers, engineers, operators, and acquisition professionals to support capability development and transition strategies.
- Help customers navigate Navy acquisition, budgeting, requirements, experimentation, and transition-to-program pathways.
- Support operational demonstrations, exercises, prototypes, and field deployments in partnership with Navy stakeholders.
- Collaborate closely with internal product, engineering, and mission teams to ensure customer feedback informs product development and roadmap priorities.
- Represent Vannevar at Navy industry events, technical exchanges, exercises, conferences, and customer engagements.

## What we're looking for

- 5+ years of experience supporting the Department of the Navy, defense acquisition, government technology, or national security programs.
- Experience working within or alongside Navy program offices, PEOs, SYSCOMs, warfare centers, or operational commands.
- Experience with defense acquisition, capability development, requirements generation, program management, systems engineering, or technical program execution.
- Familiarity with Navy budgeting, acquisition, experimentation, and transition pathways, including organizations such as PEOs, NAVWAR, NAVAIR, NAVSEA, NIWC, or related commands.
- Strong technical intuition and the ability to engage credibly with engineers, operators, acquisition professionals, and senior government leaders.
- Experience leading customer engagements involving complex technical systems, software platforms, or operational capabilities.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust, influence stakeholders, and drive outcomes across large government organizations.
- Ability to operate independently in ambiguous environments and translate strategic objectives into executable plans.
- Willingness to travel frequently in support of customer engagements and operational activities.

## Nice to have

- A track record of transitioning new technologies from experimentation, prototyping, or operational evaluation into funded programs of record.
- Experience serving as a translator between operators, acquisition professionals, engineers, and senior leaders to drive complex programs forward.
- Technical fluency combined with strong mission instincts, including experience evaluating, deploying, or advocating for software-enabled capabilities in operational environments.

The salary range for this position is $150,000-$170,000 + equity + 401K match. Within the range, individual pay is determined by experience, relevant education, and/or training.

- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- 100% remote first culture. You can work from anywhere in the US and all full time employees have WeWork access
- Unlimited PTO including competitive vacation and holiday schedules
- Lifestyle stipends - Monthly mental health, wellness & fitness stipend, in-home office setup stipend and family planning assistance
- Salary top-up during military reserve duty
- Fully paid parental leave
- Child and pet care reimbursement during travel

Vannevar is an equal opportunity employer, and qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, or disability status.

We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply, even if you don't feel like you're a perfect fit. If you're passionate about contributing to our mission, we'd love to hear from you!

## IMPORTANT NOTICE

We are committed to protecting the privacy of all applicants. Official emails from the company will come from an @vannevarlabs.com domain. Under no circumstances will a legitimate representative from our company contact you to request passwords, financial information, or other sensitive personal data. Please be vigilant of potential scams.

## About Vannevar

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Vannevar Labs builds next-generation AI-powered defense software for information dominance and decision advantage across the U.S. military and homeland security missions.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, total funding $91.5M)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2019
- **Founders**: Brett Granberg (CEO) and Nini Hamrick (President)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing; National Security Software
- **Target customers**: U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community, Homeland Security – including combatant commands (INDOPACOM, SOCOM, AFSOC, etc.) and federal agencies.
- **Mission**: Build 21st-century software that operates at the speed of modern conflict to give the U.S. and its allies battlefield information dominance and decision advantage.

## Products & Services
- **[Decrypt](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/)** – Flagship product: a foreign text workflow platform that processes vast amounts of open-source intelligence (OSINT), translates languages (Mandarin, Russian, etc.), and surfaces critical patterns and insights for intelligence officers. SaaS deployed at the tactical edge.
- **[Curator](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs)** – (Beta) A translation and search-and-discovery tool built on top of Decrypt’s data pipeline.
- **Unreleased Products** – At least two additional tools in beta (as of Nov 2024) focused on computer vision and/or NLP for battlefield applications.
- **Forward Deployed Engineering** – Custom integration and mission support for specific units, often requiring security clearances.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed (last known post-Series B in 2023)
- **Total Funding**: $91.5M
  - Seed (Apr 2019): $4.5M
  - Seed (Jan 2021): undisclosed amount, led by Costanoa Ventures and General Catalyst
  - Series A (Aug 2021): $12M, led by Costanoa Ventures and Point72 Ventures
  - Series B (Jan 2023): $75M, led by Felicis (with 7 investors)
- **Annual Revenue**: Conflicting reports – [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vannevar-labs) lists $25M; [Contrary Research](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs) states revenue grew from $3.5M in 2021 to $80M in 2024, achieving profitability within three years.
- **Key Customers & Partners**: U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, National Air and Space Intelligence Center; partner with Databricks (announced Oct 2024).
- **Notable Investors**: Costanoa Ventures, General Catalyst, Point72 Ventures, Felicis.
- **Growth Signals**: Featured on Forbes AI 50 (2024 & 2025); headcount reportedly over 200 as of Dec 2025 (per Contrary); active in major joint exercises (Balikatan 2025, Talisman Sabre 2025); secured a $99M production contract from the Defense Innovation Unit in late 2024.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Rare Proprietary Data** – Over one petabyte of adversarial, hard-to-access data that powers fine-tuned AI models not available to commercial firms.
- **Tactical Edge Deployment** – AI systems designed to run at the edge, on low-bandwidth battlefield environments, ensuring real-time decision superiority.
- **Rapid DoD Adoption** – Uses flexible Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements and DIU partnerships to bypass traditional procurement timelines.
- **Cross-Domain Expertise** – Combines talent from elite military units (SEALs, Marines, Intelligence) with top tech companies (Google, Palantir, Scale AI, Amazon, Apple).
- **Profitability at Scale** – Achieved profitability within three years – a rare achievement in defense tech.

## Strategic Focus
- **Expand International & Homeland Security** – Growing footprint beyond all‑military to include Homeland Security, border security, and diplomatic economic security tools.
- **Agentic AI Platform** – Building “armies of agents” that can autonomously steer fleets, detect threats, and keep missiles from flying, with human-in-the-loop oversight.
- **Indo‑Pacific Deterrence** – Deepening capabilities for theater‑specific deterrence and partner‑nation data sharing.
- **Talent Heavy‑Up** – Actively hiring for 28+ roles (as of mid‑2026) across engineering, mission, and operations, especially those requiring TS/SCI clearances.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission‑Driven Culture** – Described as “a workplace like no other” where ex‑Googlers work alongside ex‑SEALs to build AI that protects American lives. Employees focus on “real‑world difference” rather than incremental consumer apps.
- **Work Environment** – Hybrid / remote‑friendly, though many roles require on‑site presence in D.C., Honolulu, or other cleared facilities. Remote positions exist for those with existing clearances.
- **Engineering Philosophy** – Emphasis on building agent‑based systems, working with rare datasets, and pushing AI to the tactical edge. Employees cite high compensation but note work‑life balance challenges (rating 2.7/5 on Glassdoor).
- **Career Growth** – Rapidly growing organization with direct exposure to defense decision‑makers, opportunities to lead mission‑critical deployments, and a strong alumni network feeding into top defense tech (Palantir, Anduril, Scale AI).
- **Security Clearance Required** – Most engineering and mission roles require (or sponsor) U.S. government security clearances (TS/SCI). This is a strong signal of deep‑end work.

## Sources
1. [vannevarlabs.com](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/) – Company website
2. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/vannevar-labs) – LinkedIn Company Page (financials, headcount, reviews)
3. [research.contrary.com](https://research.contrary.com/report/vannevar-labs) – Contrary Research Report (funding details, revenue, products, headcount, customers)
4. [job-boards.greenhouse.io](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vannevarlabs) – Greenhouse careers page (open roles, job descriptions)
5. [vannevarlabs.com/careers/open-roles](https://www.vannevarlabs.com/careers/open-roles/) – Official open roles listing

## Other roles at Vannevar

- [Backend Engineer, Security Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/backend-engineer-security-platform-vannevar-remote-gd6m1yp60vpm)
- [Mission Lead - Tampa (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-tampa-clearance-required-vannevar-tampa-florida-xvmbqzgnd8e4) — Tampa Florida, United States
- [Mission Lead - Minneapolis (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-minneapolis-clearance-required-vannevar-minneapolis-minnesota-wbjzys1gy9my) — Minneapolis Minnesota, United States
- [Government Contracts Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/government-contracts-manager-vannevar-remote-a4ncnwmaa3mb)
- [Application Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/application-security-engineer-vannevar-remote-kqtbd3px6f06)
- [Senior Software Engineer, Search](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-search-vannevar-remote-w2scbtqsq6wy)
- [Engineering Manager, AI Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-ai-platform-vannevar-remote-20ns4yn7q0q5)
- [Senior Software Engineer, Full-Stack - Security Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-full-stack-security-platform-vannevar-remote-1re81zetr7a8)
- [Mission Lead - Cyber (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-lead-cyber-clearance-required-vannevar-washington-district-of-columbia-g4vr9246am4r) — Washington District of Columbia, United States
- [Mission Strategist - Tampa (Clearance Required)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-strategist-tampa-clearance-required-vannevar-tampa-florida-5e4erszmr6dv) — Tampa Florida, United States